Bass Pro Shops stores across the country, including the
store in Harrisburg, will hold their annual Fall Hunting Classic events Friday,
Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 18. Nationally recognized professional hunters,
local pros, and outdoorsmen and women will give seminars and talk about their
experiences. Some of the seminar topics will include using game scents and
calls effectively; tactics for hunting deer, waterfowl or predators; choosing
the appropriate optics; tips for game camera placement, and transporting and
processing game. Other special events will be Aug. 2-4, Bass Pro Shops Hunting
University; Aug. 2-7, bow/crossbow trade-in; Aug.8-13, scope trade-in; Aug.
14-18. binocular and rangefinder trade-in; and Aug. 17-18, Next Generation
Weekend of activities for youth. In addition, customers will be able to
register Aug. 2-18 for the "Once in a Lifetime Hunting Trip" sweepstakes.

2

The Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, Millersburg
Borough, Millersburg High School and the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg
will present a Summer Star Party astronomy program for the whole family on
Saturday, Aug. 17, at the center, off Rt. 209, east of Millersburg. The program
will begin at 6 p.m. with a telescope workshop and solar viewing, followed by a
presentation on "Why is the Sky Dark at Night?" at 7 p.m. and stargazing at 8
p.m. Star Party leaders and their telescopes will remain on-site until 10:30
p.m. Admission to the program is free, but pre-registration is recommended by
calling 717-692-3699 or visiting www.nedsmithcenter.org.

3

In the 10th year of the fishing club's annual Bass Classic,
the Capital City Bassmasters last weekend passed $100,000 in total donations to
the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Central Pennsylvania. This year's
bass-fishing tournament, hosted on the Susquehanna River at Shikellamy State
Park, Sunbury, raised $17,078. Overall winners in this year's tournament were
Toby and Luke Murray, of Montandon, Northumberland County. The brothers caught
five smallmouth bass collectively weighing 16.03 pounds. They received $3,000
in prize money.

Tony Reeder, of Williamsport, Lycoming County, weighed-in
the single heaviest fish of the tournament, an impressive smallmouth bass that
tipped the scales at 4.81 pounds. He and teammate Brady Gehr of Hughesville,
Lycoming County, will split $400 and receive plaques.

The first eight years of the tournament were held during
Kipona Festival in Harrisburg. The event was moved upriver last year when state
fishing regulations were changed to prohibit such tournaments on the Lower
Susquehanna.

4

A Successful Furtaking class, which offers trappers the
opportunity to improve their furtaking skills and knowledge, will be offered
from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, at New Bloomfield Sportsmen's
Association at New Bloomfield. Prior to attending the one-day, certification
class, each participant must complete a six- to eight-hour, independent study
portion of the training.Successful completion of the class, including a written
exam, will result in a training certificate recognized by other states and
provinces. The class also includes the required certification on the use of
cable restraint devices to trap foxes or coyotes in Pennsylvania. Online
registration is required through the Pennsylvania Game Commission website. There
is a $15 charge for the class and an electronic payment will be collected at
the time of registration. For more information, contact Pete Ellerman at
717-582-7368 or Bob Hofer at 717-834-3170.

5

The Keystone Trails Association is lining up volunteers for
the fifth annual Susquehanna Super Hike and Ultra Trail Run on Saturday, Sept.
7, on the Mason-Dixon and Conestoga trails in the Lower Susquehanna Gorge.
About 100 volunteers are needed in registration, parking, checkpoints, trail
sweeps and more. To register as a volunteer, contact Shanna Filizzi at
717-238-7017 or ktaadmin@verizon.net.

6

The mailboxes of many of Pennsylvania's dove hunters soon
will be flush with surveys from the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The National
Dove Hunter Survey – a cooperative effort by state fish and wildlife agencies,
all four of the nation's flyway councils and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
– will be arriving at the homes of many hunters in the coming days and weeks. A
random sample of dove hunters will receive the survey, asking about their
experiences and opinions on dove hunting. Topics include hunter
characteristics, time spent hunting, constraints to hunting, and thoughts about
potential effects of spent lead from hunting ammunition on mourning doves and
other wildlife.

7

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that it
will accept 1.7 million acres offered under the 45th Conservation Reserve
Program general sign-up, lowering CRP total acreage to 26.9 million acres. Now
at a 26-year program low, Pheasants Forever called the depletion a modern low
point for conservation, one which will have serious ramifications not only for
wildlife, but for the nation's soil and water quality as well. Dave Nomsen,
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever vice-president of governmental affairs,
noted, "Since 2007, we have lost more than 14.7 million acres of CRP,
accounting for 26 percent of the program and setting a 26-year low for total
acres enrolled. CRP is significantly below the 30 million acre enrollment
benchmark maintained for more than two decades. That 30 million-acre mark had
been providing record benefits in terms of soil, water, and wildlife
resources." CRP is a voluntary program designed to help farmers, ranchers and
other agricultural producers protect their environmentally sensitive land.
Eligible landowners receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to
establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland throughout
the duration of 10 to 15 year contracts. Under CRP, farmers and ranchers plant
grasses and trees in crop fields and along streams or rivers. The plantings
prevent soil and nutrients from washing into waterways, reduce soil erosion
that may otherwise contribute to poor air and water quality, and provide
valuable habitat for wildlife.

8

A free, weekly, email newsletter that will summarize all
online coverage of the outdoors by Marcus Schneck, nature and outdoor writer
for The Patriot-News and PennLive.com, and other top outdoor writers, and
provide links directly to all that outdoor writing will launch in the next few
weeks. The newsletter also will offer opportunities to get in on various
contests and reader panels, and even throw in a bit or fresh coverage available
nowhere else. To add yourself to the list of readers, send your name, hometown,
phone number and email address to Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.

9

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is accepting submissions
for the "I am the Appalachian Trail" video contest, a nationwide search for the
best fan-made video about the trail. The contest asks participants to answer
the question, "How are you a part of the Appalachian Trail?" Contestants will
submit video shorts, no longer than three minutes, emphasizing the many ways
that they are connected to the trail. The public will vote for their favorite
video through ATC's Facebook page. Submissions are being accepted until Sunday,
Sept. 15, and voting will take place from Monday, Sept. 16, to Friday, Nov. 8.
Winners will be announced on Monday, November 11. The creators of the top three
videos with the most votes will each win a one year membership to the ATC and
be featured in an issue of A.T. Journeys, the official magazine of the ATC. The
grand prize winner will have their video featured in theaters during the 2014
ATC membership drive and shared with thousands of followers across ATC's social
media sites. The contest winner will also receive a custom ATC ENO hammock. For
submission guidelines, rules and regulations, visit
www.appalachiantrail.org/2013videocontest.